But in the modern world, how can people today be expected to sit through a 1-hour speech and not fiddle with their electronic devices? Personally, I would lose my mind.

And by the way, how can all these people — some of them quite old — sit still for 1+ hours? They have to be in their seats in advance and remain there for a while afterwards, so the President can make his big entrance and exit. What percentage of them worried about having to go to the bathroom? How many of them took the precaution of wearing adult diapers? How many of them employed the convenience and relieved themselves?

I don't mean to be rude. I just think it's important to recognize our shared humanity. As Marco Rubio said the other day: "I needed water, what am I going to do? God has a funny way of reminding us we’re human." What about the other end of our hydration-related humanity?

Bob Dylan sang: "Even the President of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked." And I say: Even the members of the United States Congress sometimes must have to pee.

Every President delivering the SOTU msg should have to do as every speaker has to do at the RAVEN FAC (ex-AF CIA Forward Air Controllers in Laos) Reunion Conventions: Make each speech with one hand immersed in a bowl of ice-water..

But in the modern world, how can people today be expected to sit through a 1-hour speech and not fiddle with their electronic devices?

We're not all ADD. If this were an interesting speech on an interesting topic it would be fine. But since this is a political bullshit speech, it would be very difficult to sit through it without griping about the nonsense to someone else.

Nothing new here: apparently congress can not even sit still long enough to pass any meaningful bills beyond the 32 or so trying to negate affordable health care. Money has bought us a pathetic bunch of pols.

Sitting in Church for 15 minutes before the services start has that same effect on me. The teenagers are on their smart phones, but the other adults want undivided attention and they see your using a smart phone as rude behavior.

I suspect that they just never learned to use one and are jealous.

Some of us now say that we have the Bible downloaded and are reading scriptures...Althouse being a scripture of sorts.

Actually Audible has an excellent Listeners Bible on mp3 read by Max McLean, and its the best credits I ever used.

But listening with earphones would be sort of rude. Then even a multi tasker becomes cut off from others.

Appx 25% of the men sitting for the SOTU have or have had prostate cancer, the most common cancer existant. They should all wear brown or cream colored ribbons (vis a vis pink ribbons for breast cancer) that way when they have that sudden contented look of releasing into their adult diapers we can all give them a pass (no pun intended)...Unless of course it's CNN who seem entranced with body functions (drinking water, pooping on a cruise ships poop deck, etc.).

The answer, of course, is to go back to the President just sending a letter over to Congress instead of this pomp and circumstance, dog and pony show we have going now. That's what presidents used to do until (this will surprise no one) Wilson. FDR cemented the practice.

It was time to go back when GWB was President. It's double-time to do it now.

In the case of something on the magnitude of 9/11 in New York, sure...come in and do a special address of Congress. But this bullshit about who sits where, who's bringing who...it just proves the adage that politics is Hollywood for ugly people.

I resent the implication that urine may have found its way down a congresscritter's leg and into the carpet of the congress floor. It's one thing for that to happen to cruise ship carpeting which is after all *hiss boo* private carpeting, but this is the public sector, where such things just don't happen!!!

I hate the "modern world" critique of personal behavior. As though some great mutation happened in 1959 that fundamentally altered the human race and predisposed us to some hitherto unthinkable behavioral traits.

Are people today much different from people a hundred years ago? No.

Remember in War and Peace when what's-her-name...Natasha...can't sit still during the opera? Tolstoy couldn't sit still through operas either because he found them boring and tedious. He probably would have been a blogger. The same temperament that wonders how people could possible sit still for more than an hour is the same temperament that blogs. War and Peace was serialized over the course of several years, which is like blogging when all you have is a quill.

So we have electronic distractions today. It's no different than looking out the window. "I wonder what that squirrel is doing." "I wonder what's going on in my Twitter feed."

People inclined toward distraction will find distractions. I can sit for hours and hours without playing with my phone. Some old woman at the post office couldn't stand in line for two minutes before she whipped out her phone and started playing solitaire.

It is wrong to tweet from anywhere that you are attending a meeting, speech, play....ANY public function.

If you don't have the attention span of gnat and you can't resist tweeting, twaddling, twiddling or whatever, then perhaps you shouldn't be at that meeting or in this case be in Congress.

If you can't sit for the entire meeting for physical reasons, not just because the speaker is boring you to death, then find a place in the rear of the room and quietly, unobtrusively get up to do what ever it is you need to do.

Everyone has different issues. At 63, I know I can sit for several hours without having to urinate. I just don't drink a lot of coffee before a meeting. Other people have problems with it. No big deal.

Also....turn off your fucking cell phone!!!!

If you are bored to death by the event you are forced to attend, think about something else. Compose an article in your head, think about redecorating your house, plan a trip....anything.

Chip could be right. Angry Birds is easy to play discretely. Unless the sound is on. But have you noticed the first thing people do with Angry Birds is turn the sound off? Incredibly irritating! The game is silly enough--but on the level of Monty Python. Turn the sound on and it catapults to the Peewee's Playhouse realm of ridiculousness.

Hahahaha! I JUST THOUGHT how FUNNY it would be if throughout Obama's entire speech someone was playing Angry Birds with the volume on.

I cannot imagine that there are very many people who, by using self-control can't sit through an hour long speech. Even with the need to be in place for an hour before. The hour before the speech doesn't require people to be still and listen. Tweet then. Or play Angry Birds or whatever. I prefer to keep my hands busy while listening, or even watching TV, but I am able to sit quietly for an hour if it's required.

The diaper issue is private, I hope. Even speculating about it makes me laugh. What a door Al Roker opened with his messy pants confession. Bodily functions seem to be taking over the news.

I know that in the SOTU the people are a captive audience and can't just get up and go, in more than one sense. If they have physical problems, then they should just not attend at all. Makes everyone happy. The person who has the physical issue and the others who are distracted by that person jumping up and down to do their doody.

The SOTU speech is nothing more that a big fat joke anyway. They really say nothing and now it is just a way to trot out people as political puppets for the latest cause d'jour. Or in Obama's case use the captive audience as punching bags.

But....as to the etiquette of using electronic devices and cell phones in public venues. DON'T. There is nothing so important that you should ignore the people around you and stare vapidly into a tiny glowing screen. The devices should be turned off when you are eating at a restaurant, visiting with friends and family, at meetings, driving your damned car.

If you can't be out of contact for an hour, you need to get some psychological help.

But in the modern world, how can people today be expected to sit through a 1-hour speech and not fiddle with their electronic devices? Personally, I would lose my mind.

It is essentially a command performance, with failure to attend, except from the lowliest, with little hope for advancement. The absense of any members of Congress of note will be noted and questioned, esp. with Obama on the podium giving the SOTU speech.

I probably wouldn't tweat, because it is too public, but most likely would text with friends and esp. family, if I were trapped there.

If you can't sit for the entire meeting for physical reasons, not just because the speaker is boring you to death, then find a place in the rear of the room and quietly, unobtrusively get up to do what ever it is you need to do.

Sounds like me in law school. Had to take a lot of breaks to keep from falling asleep, and so set myself up so I could always sneak out for a minute or two during most lectures. I do suffer from some narcolepsy, but I think most of this was a result of working full time while attending LS.

The thing though that triggers this the most is a lot of CO2 buildup in the room, so expect that I would not have survived Obama's fifth SOTU speech without drowsing off at least once if I had been in the room, esp. when he essentially repeated a lot of the same stuff, about "investing" in Dem constituent slush funds and boondoggles and making the rich pay their "fair share" to bring down his debt, etc. Think that I would do much better doing it as a drinking game (though I never have).

back when I still had a position of some modicum of authority, during meetings I had to conduct, I would instruct my attendees to take out their cellphones and blackberries, silence them, and put them on the conference table in front of them. The meetings seemed to go a whole lot quicker. Of course, I was considered an asshole, but I retired and all was forgiven.

Think that I would do much better doing it as a drinking game (though I never have).

Maybe everyone at the SOTU should be wearing those beer hats and take a sip when Obama says certain key words or phrases.

We could have a contest to see who wins first. Democrats or Republicans. It would be great if the containers were clear so we could see the liquid going down, down, down. Then WE all at home could bet on who wins and who falls down drunk first. Audience participation at home TOO!!

I bet that would up the viewer ratings numbers for the SOTU.

Might be a problem for the peeing issue, but then no one would care who is staggering over them to make it to the can.

Have a bell ring the way Stalin arranged it so nobody would get shot by the NKVD for not clapping, for everybody can have intermission (Choom would love that)

OR

Just let everybody leave after the first Republican yells, "YOU LIE".

Of course, he'd actually have to be telling a lie, but with Barry, that won't take long.

Coketown said...

Remember in War and Peace when what's-her-name...Natasha...can't sit still during the opera?

Her name was Helene and she wore a topless gown (quite the rage in them thar days, women spent almost as much time powdering and rouging their breasts as their faces) and kept switching around so all the young officers would get a look, if not a feel.

But IMO freedom is just around the corner. The smart phone cellular user is the new free person. The persons using them chose to shut out the self righteous authority monitors of the world who cannot even imagine anyone multi-tasking since they cannot do it.

Her name was Helene and she wore a topless gown (quite the rage in them thar days, women spent almost as much time powdering and rouging their breasts as their faces) and kept switching around so all the young officers would get a look, if not a feel.

Yeah, Natasha met Helene and Anatol at the opera, but Natasha was the one who can't sit still and whose thoughts Tolstoy describes throughout the scene, instead of what's going on on stage. You know, like pestering the old man sitting in front of her with her fan and then leaning over to tickle Helene. It was funny.

They could always avail themselves of the means Strom Thurmond is said to have used (probably apocryphally) in filibustering the Civil Rights Act, back when "filibustering" meant actually talking continuously. He spoke for more than 24 hours straight, and the story involves an aide in the doorway with a bucket ...